Mitigating adverse impact of saline water irrigation on fennel (Foeniculum vulgare Mill. ) seed spice through organic inputs in semi-arid conditions

Abstract

India is a leading producer of spices and condiments; and the seed spices have unique position being the commodity of economic importance. In India, seed spice fennel (Foeniculum Vulgare Mill.) is grown during rabi season in Gujarat, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh covering an area of 100 thousand ha with production of 143 thousand tons in the year 2012-13 (Indian Horticulture Database, 2013). Since the crop is widely grown in arid and semi-arid regions where soil and water often contain high concentration of salts, farmers resort to irrigate it with saline groundwater. Though the farmers use saline water for irrigation but no systematic information is available on irrigation water salinity tolerance limits of this crop. In addition to this, the people are becoming more quality conscious, the demand for organically grown spices is increasing in the global market. Although the benefits of organic fertilizers are widely documented. Information on role of organic fertilizers in mitigating the adverse effects of saline water irrigation on seed spices is meager. Therefore, this study was planned with the objectives (i) to assess the effect of saline water irrigations on the yield of fennel and (ii) to investigate the mitigation of adverse impacts of saline water through appropriate combinations of organic inputs under irrigation using low and high saline water for sustainable production of the crop.